The ghost of “Vatileaks” hung in the Vatican air yesterday following the
publication by Italian news weekly, L’Espresso, of a report critical of
Australian cardinal George Pell, the point man for Pope Francis in the
“clean-up” of the Vatican’s finances.

L’Espresso alleges that in its first six months, the Secretariat for the
Economy, an organisation established by Pope Francis to oversee the
restructuring and rationalisation of the Holy See’s economic affairs, has
already run up more than half a million euro in expenses.

The implication is that while Cardinal Pell, the prefect of the secretariat,
has been busy preaching to the Curia about the steep and thorny path to fiscal
rectitude, he himself has been treading the primrose path of dalliance.

To support these claims, L’Espresso provides an inventory of costs which
include airline travel, lavish interior design renovations, job appointments
and real estate rentals as well as computers and printers. In particular, it
lists €2,508 worth of purchases made from Gammarelli, the clerical tailors, on
behalf of the secretariat.

Right-hand man

Furthermore, the magazine alleges that shortly after his appointment to the
new secretariat, Cardinal Pell appointed Danny Casey, the former business
manager to the archdiocese of Sydney, as a sort of project manager for the
secretariat on a tax-free salary of some €200,000 per annum.

The secretariat also provides Mr Casey with accommodation in central Rome at
a cost of €2,900 per month, while almost €90,000 was spent on renovation of the
apartment.

Cardinal Pell’s travel costs come in for scrutiny, too, with L’Espresso
pointing out that he spent €1,293, €1,150 and €1,238 last year on flights to
London, Dresden and Munich respectively. The implication here is that the
cardinal likes to travel business class. Somewhat improbably, the magazine also
suggests that he likes to “buy champagne and canape for everyone”. ...

The Australian cardinal handpicked by Pope Francis to cut outlays and shed
light on the Vatican’s murky finances has been accused of spending about
$560,000 in six months by flying business class and using large sums on
salaries and office furniture.

The allegations, contained in leaked figures published by Italian magazine L’Espresso
on Friday, suggest Cardinal George Pell also spent $2,800 on religious robes at
a tailor and about $5,200 on kitchen sink fittings.

Despite Francis’ decision to move into humble dwellings at the Vatican, Pell
has spent more than $3,200 a month to rent an office and apartment at an
upmarket address where he spent nearly $53,000 on furniture, according to the
allegations.

After his move to Rome to spearhead Francis’ mission to free up Vatican
funds for the poor, the former archbishop of Sydney said he would try to save
the Vatican “millions, if not tens of millions” of dollars a year.

Since then, he has flown business class and paid an assistant he brought
from Australia a $16,860-a-month salary, the magazine reported, citing leaked
Vatican documents. ...

You can get jaded reading too much news, especially too
much religion news. Muslims murdering innocents in creative new ways … Jews
kicking more non-Jews out of their Palestinian homes … Evangelicals squashing
the teaching of basic science … the umpteen millionth manifestation of the
Catholic sex abuse saga. Enough already!

Sometimes,
though, an item is astonishing enough to command attention amid the squalor.
Such is the case with the report of Australia’s “Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse” released earlier this
month. This document is not the work of some quick-buck plaintiff’s lawyer or
on-the-make journalist. It is a comprehensive, thoughtful investigation of how
the response to these abuses unfolded, authored by the most respectable people
in the land. The evil it reveals, at the highest levels, is hard to believe.

Jesus was Jewish, not Catholic. He said child abuse
was a serious evil that should be punished severely. After Roman Emperor
Constantine and his Fourth Century successors began the transformation
of the Catholic Church into a “top down absolute monarchy”, too many
popes, up to and including Pope Francis, lost their way on following
Jesus’ Jewish mandate to protect children. Pope Francis and his
Cardinals are this week working on the pope’s top priority — fine tuning
the top down and unaccountable management structure apparently to
maximize papal power and wealth. This structure is clearly contradicted
by Jesus’ mandate for a leadership that serves, not dominates, that was
mainly followed by early Christians for over three centuries.

THE CATHOLIC ANSWER FIRST. The Australian Royal Commission
into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found (2/11/15)
that Cardinal George Pell and the Sydney Catholic Archdiocese
repeatedly failed in their dealings with Sydney abuse victim John
Ellis. After Pell testified before the Royal Commission, Pell
moved quickly to Rome to become the top money man in the Catholic
Church. Pope Francis had rewarded his Australian service by making him
head of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy. He lives in luxury in
his palatial Roman “guest house”, Domus Australia, renovated with $30
million of Australian donations.

We
invite clergy abuse victims, family members of victims, and supporters of victims to be involved and to join SNAP.Joining SNAP is free and completely confidential.
We never sell nor share our membership list with anyone.We are also looking for survivors
to start
SNAP chapters. Chapter leaders must be able to conduct a
monthly self-help
support group
meeting in their local area and promote the missions of SNAP.

List of Catholic WhistleblowersThis site is
all about the TRUTH
...and there is plenty of it, so KEEP ON SCROLLING DOWN.
We try very hard to always update and post items on this web site, with
complete integrity.

We realize it takes a lot of courage to reach out for help, and we
thank you for visiting our site. We also realize this trauma reaches
family members and those who are concerned and frustrated about the sex
abuse crisis within the religious community.

This web site is a place to find information about our SNAP support
meetings in your local area, plus we are constantly updating news
stories and information about clergy who have been publicly accused of
sex abuse within the Australian dioceses. Our goal is
survivor
support, public education, and protection of kids.

We also plan to post survivor video stories. Sometimes it helps to
listen to these stories to better understand the trauma and life pain
of those who have been harmed by clergy and those who are
related
to these survivors: family and friends.

We post on this site many links to other self help groups and
information to support victims. SNAP leaders' email
addresses and phone numbers
are posted for you when you need direct help and support, please feel
free to contact any of these compassionate people who care about
survivors. SNAP leaders know that the principle wish of every
survivor is healing and the desire to see that their experiences never
happen to another child, young person, or vulnerable adult.

You, who are survivors of sex abuse did NOT deserve this, did NOT ask
for this to happen to you, and it was NOT your fault. There is healing
when you are able to speak up and get this burden off your shoulders,
and free from your heart. ... give it to the universe to carry for a
while.... Just maybe, your life will be much more at peace.

Our ultimate goal is to open up the secrets, stop the silence, support
those who have already been harmed, and thereby protect children.

Thank you for making the decision to visit our SNAPAustralia.org web
site.

Haunted by
his past, he has stood outside the Washington, DC Vatican embassy nearly every day for
16 years. His lonely vigil has made him a hero to victims of sexual
abuse. Tell John of your appreciation, just click on John's name above.